We are at the break of something big, few can even begin to imagine what the internet of things is going to lead to. Over 90% of the data gathered today has been obtained over the last two years, imagine the amount of data we will have gathered in 5 years? Dumb things become smart and they are providing us with valuable information. Rather than looking back at 2015 i wanted to look ahead. This post will cover thoughts on what is to come, in 2016 and onwards. I will cover technology which exists today and how it will become even greater when the "things" are connected to each other, connecting the dots... Internet 4.0

Illustration from Accenture on industry 4.0

Internet 4.0

​Internet 4.0 or industry 4.0 is a collective term for the fourth industry revolution which is upon us. As we collectively at a large scale start to collect data we will be able to put them to use to further predict and act in advance. The available data will be used to streamline most industries in the years to come. The smart phone and our tracks on social media is responsible for the largest data harvest at the moment. This data will gradually be overtaken by smaller connected devices and wearables; activity trackers, watches or glasses like Google glas. Things not before connected in our home and around us will produce masses of data which at this point is hard to understand. Many of the products created today are equipped with multiple sensors, more sensors than a human has and as technology evolves we will have the ability to use the sensors for machine vision, artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Movie: Minority report

What was once a science fiction movie is now becoming reality. Do we have reason to worry? Well we should proceed with caution. Tesla's Elon Musk has invested a lot of money in Tesla and in other companies actively working with artificial intelligence. Musk has stated that these investments and his board memberships is not to hijack the technology and use it for themselves, it is to be able to monitor and supervise should the need be there. If you think about it robots could like many have predicted take over the world should they be given enough to work with. If we created a robot where the sole purpose was to assist humans and create a "better world", the robots may soon enough find out that humans are the biggest threat to the "better world" and decide to do something about it.

Cars & transportation

Lets take a closer look at Tesla for example and how the use of connected technology has given them an advancement compared to the more conservative car manufacturers. Most cars produced before the Tesla did not have fancy touch screens or would be connected to the internet in any way. Some manufacturers have had an app for for their vehicle, as an example Volvo has done this for years and their connected vehicle has evolved, but still nothing like the Tesla.Tesla is probably the first electric car which has been able to replace peoples main car in the higher range of vehicles. One thing is the look and feel and front end gizmos of the Tesla but the other is their use of technology in their eco system, because a car is not just a car anymore. It is a system of cars.

The Tesla autopilot has taken the marked by storm. In the beginning people were saying that the car was unable to drive by itself through many difficult turns or special roads. But one thing which was noticed was that the car managed to make the turn after it had been teached to do so. Now this is not only being tought by one driver and one car but the Tesla actually learns from other cars.The Tesla uses Swarm intelligence. This is ground breaking compared to how we have gone about our business before. By letting all Tesla's work together they will learn faster and they will get really good at a rapid pace.

Photo: Tesla

Tesla's autopilot uses four main technologies for it's autopilot.

Long distance radar

Ultrasonic sensors

Camera with machine vision

Satellites with real time traffic

All these sensors act together and create a stable platform to automate the driving completely.

Photo: Google

Google has also been busy at work with their self driving car. Google's approach is however slightly different to Tesla's. Tesla has created an autopilot to allow the car to drive by itself and to increase safety and overall driving efficiency. But at first the goal is not to get rid of the driver, it is to aid & protect him. By time though the technology will have evolved enough to be completely driver-less. Googles car however has been created to be completely driver-less from the start. The car has been tested with supervisory drivers for a long time but It is currently performing it's duty on universities and larger compounds but will eventually make its way to the road.

Connected cars and smart cities

V2V - Vehicle to Vehicle communication is also a standard which is emerging. V2V allows vehicle to be aware of each other and what is happening around them within a limited area in the 5,9 GHz band. Cars will be able to use existing sensors within the vehicle to report of any dangers ahead like accidents or slippery roads. The same technology will also be able to direct traffic in a much more efficient manner. Public transportation will be given the right to drive straight through intersections and traffic lights will change at a higher pace to allow greater flow of traffic. ​

Traffic signs will be connected and automatically re-route traffic should there be an accident ahead. Cars will be warned should an emergency response vehicle approach them from behind to let way. Emergency response vehicles will also be given a clear road and green lights all the way to their destination. Some cars today will also report any crash or accident without the interaction of the driver. So if the sensors in a car detect an impact a notice is given to an emergency central.

As long as the car is connected and the city is connected, the vehicle will also be able to find the closest free parking space to your destination.

Intelli street concept

The connected city will need sensors all over the city to be able to provide valuable information about things like air quality, water detection for flood, seismic sensors etc. Such a multisensor could easily be built in to light posts and at the same time serve multi purpose feedback and also information to the public through speakers or signs. With motion detection the light could also be controlled more smart, turning the light on and off when required and thereby saving power.

Connected and dug in dumpsters in Stavanger, Norway

Connected dumpster in Santande

The way we get rid of our trash is also in the need of a change. Many cities have by time installed connected dumpsters. These dumpsters will let the renovation company know when it is time to empty the canisters. Bergen city in Norway are also testing out a vacuumed system for the trash in the city center. Any trash thrown in the dumpster will be vacuumed to a central waste handling station. Looking forward to see how they are going to treat a blockage, reverse the air flow? :)

Illustration of traditional power meeter

Advanced Meetering System

The power grid in any city needs to be controlled in a more efficient manner. We are usually used to reading of energy consumption and sending it to the energy company. Many cities are now installing AMS type readers. These are connected and report the consumption in real time to the energy companies giving them better load predictions. This will allow them to control the power grid more smartly and instead of scaling their delivery based on the absolute maximum they can analyze the power consumption over time and scale it more correctly. The data gathered can be used to control houses more efficiently during peak power times or automate the use of alternative energy sources like the Tesla battery for households, Solar panels or similar. In the same way as electricity other things like water and gas can be controlled and measured the same way.The large amount of data collected throug power usage is unbelievable. We have also seen some fun examples of how one could use the data to something else than for power. A group of people have studied AMS data and found out it could be used to find similar people with similar habits and maybe connecting people this way.

Connected health

As things around us get connected we will be able to produce large amounts of data with regards to our health. Medical studies earlier was time consuming and not really representative for the population as a whole. Apple has release Health kit and other companies similar services, medical institutions and scientists have access to health data at large scale. The amount of data is however to large for any person to analyze so algorithms and data analyzing tools will be used to find the answer to cancer and other major deceases.

WBZ: Paul Houle

Connected devices like the Apple watch has already proven it's capability to serve us. Paul Houle, 17, had been to football practice at Tabor Academy in Marion, Massachusetts, when he began experiencing pain in his back and chest. He used his Apple watch to check his pulse, which turned out to be far too high and contacted medical assistance. This turned out to save his life. What Paul did was performed manually but imagine what this could lead to in the future when the steps above are being done automatically and medical assistance is called for before you even know you are unwell.

In Amsterdam medical services has tested out drone defibrillators. The drones were sent out to location based on GPS tracking during emergency calls or to patients with known heart failures who were equipped with tracking devices. Now imagine if this also was an automated service, the life saving potential is huge.

More IoT's

Imagination is the stage we are in now when it comes to finding potential for what these connected devices can do to serve us humans. By time when more and more data is analyzed we will find even more ways of utilizing the power of information. At this stage though we are using a lot of computing power to be able to analyse the data gathered at such pace. The so called BIG DATA needs new technology if we are going to be able to analyze and act quick enough. That is where quantum computing becomes important. The need for a device with fast computing and analytic abilities is more important than ever. Other machines like IBS' Watson has also been set to study Big Data.

2015 has really boosted IoT and Big Data and i believe that with virtual reality, even more IoT's, connected homes, connected cars, and the start of connected cities will bring us much more in the decade to come. Being able to control something from you smartphone does not necessarily make it smart, artificial intelligence will provide us with smartness and automate our life without the need of interaction. I am looking forward to the revolution at hand.